The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Photinia, botanically known as Photinia.times.fraseri, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Colmont.
The new Photinia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventors in San Antonio, Tex. The objective of the breeding program was to create new Photinias with darker green leaf color, longer-lasting red leaf color, better vigor, and better tolerance to high temperatures. The new Photinia originated from a self-pollination of the commercial Photinia.times.fraseri cultivar Birmingham (not patented).
The cultivar Colmont was discovered and selected by the Inventors as a single plant within a population of 4,000 progeny plants in a controlled environment in San Antonio, Tex., in August, 1994. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable plant form and unique foliage coloration.
Asexual reproduction of the new Photinia by termial cuttings taken in a controlled environment in San Antonio, Tex., has shown that the unique features of this new Photinia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.